


Specters & Sorrow

by crimsoncomradeposts



Category: Burn This - Wilson, Logan Lucky (2017), Marriage Story (2019), Paterson (2016), Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, The Dead Don't Die (2019)
Genre: Eventual Smut, F/M, Gothic, Infidelity, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-25 02:46:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30082287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crimsoncomradeposts/pseuds/crimsoncomradeposts
Summary: When I started writing this I wasn’t sure if I could get away with making this a one shot or if it would develop into a fic. But the more I wrote it the more I realized that it most definitely cannot be contained as a one shot. That being said, I’m not entirely sure how many chapters this will have. I’ll just keep going until it’s done, I suppose. lolI’d also like to say a massive thank you to those who helped create and shape this fic: @han-not-solo @carloswilliamcarlos @hopeamarsu @miraclesabound @roanniom @clydesducktape @safarigirlsp @queeniebee @historyandfandoms50 @whiskey-bumblebee @babbushka @sirkit11 @caillea
Relationships: Charlie Barber/Reader, Charlie Barber/You, Kylo Ren/Reader, Kylo Ren/You
Comments: 1
Kudos: 5





	Specters & Sorrow

It is, by all accounts and purposes, an unseasonably warm day—if that day were spent back in the typically bitter winter temperatures from where you hail, of course. Here, in the tropical oasis that is the Maldives, twenty-eight centigrade is enough to make your brow bead with sweat. The dress that you wear billows around your legs in the breeze that rolls in off of the ocean whilst you sit in the wicker dining chair on an outdoor restaurant patio by the sea. Across from you sits your companion, a man you’d only just met a day ago; tall, dark, handsome—in a city filled with brightly colored art and buildings alike, along with the white sand beaches, he is quite the opposite, you have come to find. And yet… You are drawn to him like a moth to flame.

He smiles at you, eyes hidden behind the dark tint of the sunglasses that he wears, and you cannot help but note the mischief that seems to be lurking beneath the surface of the expression. Involuntarily, the corners of your mouth curl to pull your lips upward in the beginnings of a smile you try desperately to repress.

“What is it,” you ask, needing to know why he appears to be looking at you like the cat that got the cream.

“I want you to meet me tonight,” he replies, teeth now on display as his smile stretches into that of a grin.

“Meet you?” The words are muffled by the food that has since made its way into your mouth. You lift the napkin from your lap and lightly dab at your mouth whilst you swallow the mouthful. Only once your mouth is clear do you speak again. “We haven’t even left one another’s company.”

He hums in acknowledgement of your response, his smile still present. “We will. Regrettably, I have some things to attend to shortly,” he replies, glancing down to check the gold watch that adorns his left wrist.

You can’t help the sinking sensation that settles heavily into the pit of your stomach when he retrieves his wallet, removing enough money to cover the tab for your meals. You are nearly finished with your own, and the man across from you has long since cleaned his. “Oh,” is all you can muster, quietly and defeated just before you take the final bite of the last remaining food on your plate.

“Have you brought your swimming attire,” he asks rather abruptly.

The question pulls you from your somber thoughts and causes your brows to crease in temporary confusion. “They’re at the hotel, but I—”

“Perfect,” he replies, effectively halting anything more that you were about to say. “Wear it beneath your dress tonight, and meet me, say… Seven o’clock sharp, at the docks.”

“The docks?”

He nods, checking his watch once more to ensure that he won’t be late to his next destination. “Yes. The place I want to take you isn’t on this island, but not to worry,” he says, now looking at you through his sunglasses, “it’s only a short boat ride away.”

He rises up from his chair and circles around the table to where you sit, bending down to press a chaste kiss to your cheek. “Goodbye for now, darling.”

“Goodbye, Kylo.”

***

The sun hangs low in the sky by the time you meet Kylo at the docs as you’d agreed, its rays painting the sky marvelous shades of pinks, purples, and a touch of gold. The warmth of Kylo’s hand engulfs your own as he helps you up into the boat he’s chartered for the trip in which he has still failed to fill you in on.

“Just what  _ exactly _ are we doing,” you inquire only to have him shoot back with a rather cheeky smirk.

Even with the darkening skies, his eyes seem to sparkle with a playful mischief. His hand clasps a little more tightly around your own when the boat begins to pull away from the dock in preparation of heading towards your next destination. “It’s a surprise,” he says just loud enough to be heard over the sound of the boat’s engine.

You hum in immediate reply, though the sound of it gets lost in noise of the waves that crash against the boat as it bobs along the pristine waters. Silently now, Kylo turns his head to observe the expression of concentration on your face as you watch the sparkling waters turn dark with the impending nightfall. It’s harder to read your expression in the dwindling light, he finds, though he knows those proverbial gears are grinding in that pretty head of yours.

His hand releases its hold on your own in order to slip around your waist, pulling you closer to him. Kylo leans in, his lips ghosting across your temple briefly before planting a tender kiss to the space. “We’re almost there,” he murmurs just loud enough for you to hear. In response, you lean into him, accepting his warmth and his touch as the sun continues to set, giving way to the darkness of night.

By the time you have finally reached your destination, the sun has long disappeared behind the horizon, and night has once again cloaked this part of the world in black. Just as when you had boarded, Kylo now takes hold of your hand to help you disembark, your feet touching down on the dock just before his arm once again encircles your waist.

“Are you going to at least give me some sort of hint, or am I still meant to be in the dark...quite literally now, might I add.”

Kylo chuckles, amused at both the inquiry and the observation. His hold tightens on you a fraction as he escorts you away from the boat and off of the dock. “Your curiosity will be sated soon enough, darling. We’re nearly there.”

It’s a short walk from where the two of you have offloaded from the boat to another portion of the island, but as you near your final destination for the evening, Kylo’s hand slips from yours. Your mouth turns downward in a frown that is short-lived as he slips behind you and lifts his hands to cover your eyes, effectively blocking your view. With the frown now forgotten and lips upturned once more, you exhale a soft chuckle when Kylo begins to slowly walk you forward towards the sound of the waves that seem to grow louder with each and every step.

“Kick your shoes off,” he instructs, his voice just barely carrying over the crashing waves in front of you when he brings you to a halt.

When you follow his guidance, you find that you are met with the familiar sensation of sand beneath your bare feet. Behind you, Kylo shifts to remove his own shoes, ensuring that his hands remain in front of your eyes when he does so. Inhaling a sharp breath, he leans in until the heat radiating from his body can be felt against your back.

“Ready?”

Your pulse jumps in anticipation at the question, your heart hammering in your chest now as a plethora of scenarios filters through your mind in a matter of seconds.  _ Are _ you ready?

A quick breath of your own is inhaled as you nod in response to Kylo. “Yes,” you reply, the affirmation accompanying a sigh.

Kylo’s hands slip away from your face, and when your eyes part, you are taken aback by the sight before you. The waves are illuminated in a blue glow that carries up onto the beach with each lapping of the tide. “Kylo,” you whisper, “it’s…” It’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen, unlike anything you’ve ever had the pleasure of experiencing; it is everything you never knew you’d wanted to experience until right now in this very moment.

Kylo steps around to stand beside you, the satisfied smile that he wears hidden by the cover of night. “Get undressed.”

Your head turns so quickly that it truly is a wonder that you have not pulled some sort of muscle with the ferocity in which you look to your right. “I beg your pardon?”

“To your swimsuit,” he further explains, his hands now lifting to work at the buttons of his shirt. “We’re taking a dip.”

“Is it safe,” you ask, the question earning a chuckle from Kylo.

“Of course it is,” he replies, his shirt discarded and resting against the darkened sand of the beach. “Bioluminescent plankton,” he explains. “Perfectly safe.”

It isn’t until his shirt has been shed, left discarded on the sandy ground that you finally turn your attention to your own attire, the two of you disrobing in a comfortable silence until you’re left only in your respective swimsuits. Kylo reaches for you, taking your hand in his own before leading you to the water’s edge. The ocean, you find, is blessedly still warm thanks in large part to having absorbed the heat from the sun’s earlier appearance. You allow yourself to be led further and further until finally, the two of you are submerged up to your necks in the salty water.

Calmly, both you and Kylo tread water, your bodies bobbing in time with the rolling of the waves which continue to be illuminated by the strange blue glow.

You hum in response, the sound lost on the waves. Kylo takes a moment to swim closer to you, his hands finding your hips beneath the cover of the water to draw you even closer. Your arms lift to encircle his neck just as he leans in to brush his lips against your own, but just as your eyelids begin to flutter closed in anticipation of a kiss that is sure to come, he speaks.

“I have to go.”

Your brows pinch together, eyes flying open whilst you pull back slightly in his embrace. “ _ What? _ Go where?  _ Now? _ ”

Kylo’s head shakes vehemently, now moving a hand away from your hip to breach the water’s surface to frame the left side of your face. “No. No, not now. But tomorrow.”

Though you’d love nothing more than to allow yourself the comfort of leaning into his touch, the shock of the sudden news is all that you can seem to focus on in the moment. “I don’t understand. I thought you were here for a week. You said maybe longer.”

“I am—I  _ was _ .” Kylo sighs, his thumb brushing along your cheekbone. “However word has arrived this morning that there are matters to be tended to back at the estate and so I must leave.”

It’s pitiful, you think to yourself, to have become so enamored so quickly with someone such as the man before you. He was nothing short of a sly, smooth talker from the get go. You’d known better, and yet…

And yet you’d allowed yourself to fall to his charms. How foolish. How naive.

Kylo’s voice has since faded into the background, lost to the sound of the water that sloshes around you as the waves roll in towards the shore. Your mind reels from the news, from the painful realization that this romance, however short-lived, is to be no more.

“Did you hear what I’ve said,” he asks, the question breaking through the whirlwind of your thoughts.

You inhale a breath and shake your head. “No,” you reply simply, quietly, though just loud enough for him to hear.

Kylo huffs a dry laugh into the night air. “I said that I want you to come with me. Come back to the estate, I think you’ll love it there.” His hand falls away from your face, dipping back beneath the inky surface of the water to rest on your hip once more. “I’m not ready to let you go. Say that you’ll join me?”

Silence follows the question as you attempt to absorb what’s just been asked of you. Surely you can’t just leave your life behind, start anew with a man who you’ve only just met, who is nothing more than an acquaintance at best.

“Yes,” you blurt out, allowing your heart to speak before your head can intervene. For too long you have allowed rational thought to take the lead, never following the path of your wants and desires.

Today—here and now—you resign, that ends.


End file.
